Ethical Considerations of Large Language Models: Challenges and Best Practices

by Pedro Elkind Velmovitsky, Luk Arbuckle , Paraskevi Papadopoulou

The field of large language models (LLMs) has rapidly evolved, with models like ChatGPT gaining widespread adoption due to their impressive performance and flexibility across various tasks. Despite their capabilities, LLMs present several ethical challenges and limitations that require further investigation. One significant issue is the phenomenon of hallucinations, where models generate incorrect responses that appear factual, potentially misleading users and leading to unforeseen consequences. Additionally, the deployment of LLMs often necessitates substantial computational resources, and their performance can vary significantly across different languages, raising concerns about their applicability and equity. While the public availability of LLMs offers numerous benefits, such as decision support and personal development, the control of these models by private enterprises introduces privacy and security concerns. These issues are particularly critical in contexts like digital health, where LLMs might provide medical advice without professional oversight, posing risks to patient safety. Addressing these ethical considerations is crucial for the responsible deployment of LLMs. This research topic aims to foster a collaborative exploration of the ethical dimensions of deploying large language models (LLMs) across various digital health domains. Our objective is to proactively identify and address ethical challenges, promote equitable practices, and enhance the applicability of LLMs. By bringing together diverse perspectives, we aim to highlight current ethical issues, disseminate best practices, and develop actionable strategies that mitigate risks and empower stakeholders to harness the full potential of advanced LLM technologies. Through this initiative, we seek to catalyze a constructive dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Our ultimate goal is to transform ethical considerations into opportunities for innovation and inclusive growth in the use of LLMs in digital health. To gather further insights into the ethical considerations of LLMs, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: - Security and privacy of data - Accessibility and equity - Fairness and bias - Hallucinations and misinformation - Model performance across languages - Applications in specific domains, such as healthcare - Governance and control of LLMs and their outputs - Case studies of ethical deployment - Forward-thinking policies for ethical LLM use